February is just around the corner and this so-called winter continues to show no serious grip.
The cold comes, followed by a thaw, then a little teaser of snowfall here and there. Nothing like what we encountered last year, that is for sure.
We are still seeing fish houses and vehicles going through the ice. People are driving cars and trucks on a lot of the local lakes and you also see a number of ATV/UTV’s cruising around.
But seeing a snowmobile on the ice or on the trails around here is almost as rare as spotting a mountain lion roaming through your back yard. In fact, my wife called me the other day from the road and sounded very surprised — she spotted a snowmobiler!
I have been running a Polaris Ranger this winter and it has been the ideal machine for the conditions. You just never know what we will get for conditions here in the winter so maybe this is the best of both worlds. I am trading in the tires for tracks and hopefully this means we will get a measurable snowfall or two before the grass starts to get green.
The Brainerd Jaycees $150,000 Ice Fishing Extravaganza is Feb. 11 and it should be interesting to see what the fish take will be.
WALLEYEDAN Eigen may be reached at (218) 839-5598, walleyedan@brainerd.com or www.walleyedan.com.
